Town of Whitby By-law # 6919-14...Town of Whitby By-law # 6919-14 Heritage Designation By-law Being a By-law to designate the Henry Fliess House, 520 Henry Street, Part of Lot 11,

Town of Whitby By-law # 6919-14

Heritage Designation By-law Being a By-law to designate the Henry Fliess House, 520 Henry Street, Part of Lot 11, Plan H50046, Range 1, Whitby as being of cultural heritage value and interest. Whereas, in accordance with the provisions of Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, the Council of the Corporation of the Town of Whitby considers it desirable to designate the property, excluding the detached garage, on the property hereinafter described to be of cultural heritage value and interest; And Whereas, the Council of the said Corporation has caused to be served to the owner, general public and upon the Ontario Heritage Trust, notice of its intention to designate the property known as the Henry Fliess House to be of cultural heritage value and interest and has caused such notice to be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the Town of Whitby; And Whereas, no person has served a notice of objection to the proposed designation on the Clerk of the said Corporation; Now therefore, the Council of The Corporation of the Town of Whitby hereby enacts as follows:

1. General

The property known as The Henry Fliess House, excluding the detached 1.1.garage, 520 Henry Street, Part of Lot 11, Plan H50046, Range 1, and more particularly described in Schedule ‘A’ attached to and forming part of this by-law is designated as being of cultural heritage value and interests.

2. Schedule(s)

Schedule ‘A’ – Designation Statement and Report of 520 Henry Street,2.1.Whitby as prepared on August 15, 2014 by D. Gardner.

3. Effective Date

The provisions of this by-law shall come into force and take effect on the day3.1.of the final passing thereof.

By-law Name: Heritage Designation By-law By-law # 6919-14 Page 2 of 2 By-law read and passed this 8th day of September, 2014.

Patricia Perkins, Mayor

Debi A. Wilcox, Town Clerk

520 Henry Street

Whitby, Ontario

DESIGNATION STATEMENT

AND REPORT

PREPARED BY: DEIRDRE GARDNER

8/15/2014

By-law # 6919-14 - Schedule A

| Designation Statement, 520 Henry Street, Whitby, Ontario

| 520 Henry Street, Whitby, Ontario 1

D E S I G N A T I O N S T A T E M E N T

D E S C R I P T I O N O F T H E P R O P E R T Y

5 2 0 H E N R Y S T R E E T , W H I T B Y , O N T A R I O ( P a r t o f L o t 1 1 , P l a n H 5 0 0 4 6 , R a n g e 1 )

520 Henry Street was the first mid-20th-century split-level house to be built in Whitby, Ontario. The

house was designed by well-known Canadian modernist architect, Henry Fliess for Peter King Draimin in

1949. The designation would include the house and exclude the detached garage.

S T A T E M E N T O F C U L T U R A L H E R I T A G E V A L U E O R I N T E R E S T

520 Henry Street in Whitby is an early mid-century example of a custom designed split level dwelling

incorporating contemporary architectural house design characteristics. Typical of the split level style, it

features many design elements that are of cultural heritage value including a multi-level plan with an

asymmetrical front façade incorporating a unique orientation, low-pitch gable roof with overhanging

eaves and multiple windows.

520 Henry Street was designed by Henry Fliess, an architect and lecturer at the University of Toronto.

Mr. Fliess developed new housing design and made a significant contribution to changes in urban design

in mid-century post-war Canada.

D E S C R I P T I O N O F H E R I T A G E A T T R I B U T E S

Key exterior attributes that exemplify the heritage value of 520 Henry Street as an excellent example of

a mid-century modern split level house design include:

Multi-level with simplified open interior floor plan

Unique orientation with asymmetrical front façade

Low-pitch gable roof with overhanging eaves

A variety of casement window styles and groupings with larger multi-window openings on the

western facade

| Designation Report, 520 Henry Street, Whitby, Ontario


5 2 0 H E N R Y S T R E E T , W H I T B Y , O N T A R I O D E S C R I P T I O N O F T H E P R O P E R T Y 520 Henry Street in the Town of Whitby is located on Part of Lot 11, Plan H50046, Range 1. The house

plan includes a detached brick garage on the north part of the lot. The detached double garage is part

of the original design and dates to 1949 but is not included in the designation.

The house was designed by modernist architect Henry Fliess for Peter King Draimin and his wife in 1949.

The house design incorporated several modern design details. It was the first split-level dwelling built in

Whitby. The split-level design incorporates three levels. The original house design incorporated a

number of new construction features that were being popularized at the time including thermal pane

windows and radiant heating created by installing water pipes in the floors and in the ceiling of the

vestibule. N. Johansen & Sons of Oshawa were the contractors for the house. The current owners have

the original blueprints for 520 Henry Street, dated April 1, 1949. The building was completed in August,

1949.

C O N T E X T

520 Henry Street is situated in the middle of a lot with a 181 foot frontage on Henry Street between

Ontario Street West and St. John Street West. When the house was constructed in 1949 on the two-

thirds of an acre lot, Henry Street was an unpaved dirt road, rural in nature with cattle grazing nearby.

There were unobstructed views of Ajax to the west, the Ontario Hospital, and Lake Ontario to the south.

To take advantage of the views, the architect incorporated large west windows. The site includes

numerous mature trees and shrubs many planted by owners shortly after construction of the house. A

paved sidewalk leads to the front entrance.

At the time of its completion, the house was a unique modern architectural design and there was much

interest in the building. Peter Draimin was the President of the Rotary Club of Whitby (1948-1949) and

invited the architect to make a presentation to the club about the design of 520 Henry Street. Shortly

after the house was completed, a feature story appeared in the magazine Canadian Homes and Gardens

Magazine. The magazine was published during 1927-1962 and edited by architect Eric Arthur, professor

and mentor of Henry Fliess at the University of Toronto.

There have been some modifications made to the original design: The kitchen was remodelled in 2005-

2006 replacing the original kitchen; the original window frames have been replaced but with a similar

design; the living room fireplace was converted from wood to natural gas in 2006; the original brick

fireplace has been preserved behind a new wooden mantelpiece; a gas fireplace has been installed in

the basement; the original septic tank bed which was located south of the dwelling was removed once

the house was connected to the municipal sewer system in 1959; the original oil heat has been replaced

with natural gas in 2006; the low brick wall that was located near the front entrance had deteriorated

and has been removed and replaced with a wrought iron fence; the original design included a flagstone

patio on the south side of the house; a solarium was added by previous owners and has been replaced

with a four-season solarium in 2006.



A R C H I T E C T , H E N R Y F L I E S S

Henry Fliess was born in Leipzig, Germany on January 2, 1921 into a Jewish family. Henry’s father died

when he was four. In 1936, during the Nazi era, Henry Fliess was able to leave Germany and moved to

Deal, England to reside near a great aunt. Deal is a small southeast coast town about nine miles from

Dover. At the age of 15, he attended secondary school and resided with the principal. The principal

mentored Henry and guided him toward a career in architecture and assisted in finding an internship

with a small architectural firm. Henry also took a course in architecture at the Margate School of Art and

a correspondence course with a lecturer through the University of London.

With the outbreak of World War II, Henry Fliess was detained at a camp on the Isle of Man. At a later

date, Fliess was sent to Canada with other internees. He lived in Newfoundland, Trois Rivieres, Quebec

and finally a camp in New Brunswick where he planted and cut trees.

After a mandatory one year internment in Canada, Fliess decided to resume his architectural studies at

the University of Toronto. The curriculum at the School of Architecture in the early 1940s had

incorporated specialized lectures in town planning and housing design. Professor Eric Arthur introduced

focused courses in town planning to the course curriculum in 1937-1938. Fliess was greatly influenced

by Professor Arthur.

In 1945, Henry Fliess became a Canadian citizen. After graduating from the University of Toronto in

1946, Henry Fliess worked with architect, James Murray and his architectural firm Murray, Rounswait

and Fairfield. After a compulsory year of apprenticeship, he was offered a position as a lecturer in

architecture at the University of Toronto.

One of the first commissions that Henry Fliess acquired was the design for a cottage on Georgian Bay at

Point au Baril for Professor J.D. Ketchum in 1949. His second completed design commission was 520

Henry Street in Whitby. In 1950, Henry Fliess published an article in the Royal Architectural Institute of

Canada (RAIC) Journal titled “The Modern House; A Brief Critical Analysis.” Mr. Fliess states in the article

“Canadians have become more and more extroverted . . . The open plan is a symbol of this outward

turning life, it is the expression of a freer and less formal existence . . . spacious modern living area

which more likely than not opens into the garden extending the interior out to take in the whole visible

landscape.. .The flat roof, the large glass areas and the interpretation of space are all elements of the

new vocabulary.”1

In 1952, Henry Fliess designed one other house in Whitby at 125 Centre Street North for William P.

Glover. It is a modern ranch style house. The design incorporated a two car garage but that feature has

since been altered.

Interest in planned communities led Henry Fliess to his involvement in the development of fifteen house

designs for the planned community of Don Mills. In 1952, industrialist E.P. Taylor assembled 2000 acres

of farmland to establish a planned community or a garden city of which 300 to 400 houses were built.

Fliess also designed the Village Square in Baltimore's Cross Keys Village for influential American

1 Nancy Lynn Duff. “Place Making”: Henry Fliess and the Development of Humane Housing and Urban Design in Canada after the Second World

War. Carleton University, April 7, 2003, page 57.



developer James A. Rouse. Later in his career, Henry Fliess designed Sherway Gardens (Phases 1 and 2)

with fellow architect James Murray.

A R C H I T E C T U R A L S T Y L E - S P L I T - L E V E L H O U S E D E S I G N

A split-level house is sometimes referred to as a tri-level because the floor levels are staggered, so that

the "main" level of the house which usually contains the front entry, is partway between the upper and

lower floors. The main level typically contains common living areas such as the living room, kitchen, and

dining room. There are typically two short sets of stairs, one running upward to a bedroom level, and

one going downward toward a basement area. The basement level is usually finished, and often

contains additional living areas such as a family room, office or entertainment area and utility areas. The

split-level design became a very popular house design because the layout maximized square footage

while minimizing the need for larger lots and full basements.

Split-level house design was becoming a popular mid-century housing option. The origins of the design

can be traced back to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. In the 1920s, Wright had incorporated staggered

or half floor split-levels in some of his custom house designs that were situated on sloping lots. By the

1930s, Sears, Roebuck & Company began to promote split-level house plans in their catalog house

designs.

H I S T O R Y O F T H E P R O P E R T Y P a r t o f L o t 1 1 , P l a n H 5 0 0 4 6 , R a n g e 1 – A n n e s P l a n

Ezra Annes (1796-1857) purchased the north 100 acres of lot 28, concession 1 in the Township of Whitby

from Kings College on January 20, 1836. Lot 28, Concession 1 had been granted to Kings College by the

Patent Lands on January 3, 1828. Ezra Annes was born in Vermont and settled in the Whitby area in

1819. He played a prominent role in the local community establishing the Masonic Lodge in 1825,

assisting with the foundation of a grammar school in 1846 and being elected as Mayor in 1857.

On February 22, 1866, Henry Warren Annes (1824-1886), the son of Ezra Annes, and John McCarroll

Lowes (1829-1902), a Whitby dry goods merchant who was married to Henry’s sister, Charlotte Losie

Annes, filed a Plan of Subdivision for the property as Annes Plan of the North Part of Lot No. 28, 1st

Concession of the Township of Whitby. The Land Registry Office assigned the Plan the number H50046.

Henry Street was assigned the name Henry after Henry Warren Annes. Henry Annes served on the

Whitby Town Council from 1882-1883.

In December 1866, Mary A. Sproule purchased 6.87 acres of Lot 11 of the Annes Plan located in the

north half of Lot 28, Concession 1 from Henry Annes and J.M. Lowes. In May 1867, Mary Sproule sold

the land to John H. Greenwood. In October 21, 1875, the property was sold to William Green. Green

sold the property to James Mitchell on February 9, 1881. James Mitchell sold the property to Joseph

Baird Mitchell, a farmer, on September 30, 1896.

On March 1, 1938, the property including lots five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven were sold to

Edna May Burkhart. In January, 18, 1943, the property was granted to Otto and Edna May Burkhart by

Edna May Burkhart. In January 1946, the property was sold to Joseph and James Milligan of Cannington

by Otto Burkhart.



On November 17, 1948, two thirds of an acre of land delineated as Lot 11 of the Annes Plan (Part of Lot

Number 28 in the First Concession of the Township of Whitby) was sold by Joseph and James Milligan to

Peter King Draimin and Dorothy Draimin for $1,000. In the land records, Peter is identified as Philip K.

Draimin. Peter and Dorothy Draimin owned 520 Henry Street from 1949-1953.

In 1933, Peter King Draimin (1914-2009) came to Whitby from Toronto to become manager of King

Brothers’ Tannery. Peter’s mother Bertha was a member of the King family. While residing in Whitby,

Peter served as a Councillor in 1943, and served on the Whitby Board of Education from 1945-1948. He

was also President of the Rotary Club for 1948-49. The tannery closed in 1952 due to a lack of business,

and the Draimin family moved back to Toronto in 1953.

On May 11, 1953, the property was sold to Theodor Smith and his wife Greta (Kay) Kajsa Smith who

moved from Oshawa to Whitby. Theodor Smith was the Traffic Manager for the Smith Transport

Company. Theodor Smith sold the house to Bruce and Joan McColl on August 11, 1958 and the family

moved to Toronto.

Bruce John McColl (1918-1999) was born at Forest, Ontario on March 30, 1918 and married Mary

Annette Joan Hyland (1923-2005) at Kingston, Ontario on July 31, 1944. Bruce McColl worked in

Montreal from 1944 to 1958, and in 1948, he received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s

University. He was hired as an Assistant Vice-President of Industrial Products for Dowty Equipment Ltd.,

Ajax, Ontario in October 1958 and moved to Whitby and purchased 520 Henry Street.

On October 31, 2005, the property was purchased from the estate of Mary Joan McColl by present

owner Brian Lewis and Patricia Mary Winter. Brian Winter was the Town of Whitby Archivist from 1968

until his retirement in 2012. Mr. Winter was the founder of the Whitby Archives and a founding member

of the Town of Whitby’s Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee in 1978. Mr. Winter is a

published author and frequent contributor to articles written on Whitby’s history.



520 Henry Street, Whitby, Ontario in 2014





B I B L I O G R A P H Y

P A P E R S

Nancy Lynn Duff. “Place Making”: Henry Fliess and the Development of Humane Housing and Urban Design in Canada after the Second World War. Carleton University, April 7, 2003.

R E P O R T S

Margaret Clayton, Chair LACAC Heritage Whitby. Historical Report, 520 Henry Street, Whitby, Ontario.

May 2014.

Documents

Town of Whitby By-law # 6919-14...Town of Whitby By-law # 6919-14 Heritage Designation By-law Being a By-law to designate the Henry Fliess House, 520 Henry Street, Part of Lot 11,